Motor-vehicle



M. A. WHE'LAN. MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23. 15H8.

Patented May 10, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

avE/@Saws M. lA. WHELAN. MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED NOVx 23,19I8.

Patented' May 10,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 'UNITED STATESA MARY AANGELA WHELAN, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

MOTOR-VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 23, 1918. Serial No. 263,867.

To all 107mm t may concern:

Be it known that I, MARY A. lVHnLAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State ofV New Jersey', have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor- Vehicles, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention has relation to wiring distribution of motor vehicles, with special reference to the wiring of vehicles of the VFord type, and the nature and objects thereof will readily occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, in the light of the following explanation of the accompanying drawings, illustrating what I now believe to be the preferred embodiment or mechanical expression of my invention from other forms and arrangements, within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims,

However, an object of the invention is to provide means to be formed preferably of insulating material, for entirely inclosing the wires which lead from the coil box of a motor vehicle to the commutator, whereby toprotect the insulation of the wires against corrosion and thereby prevent short circuits and other troubles arising therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a conduit for wires of the character above set forth which will be articulated so as to provide for relative movement oi the terminals of the conduit and thus `permit one terminal to be secured to the vehicle body and the other terminal to the motor.

A still further object of the invention is to provide ing a casing to receive the commutator of the motor and to carry the wires thereto,

and means for establishing contact with the binding posts of the commutator and to maintain such contact in any position of the commutator relative to the casing, and to thus permit the commutator to be moved for advancing or retarding the spark while maintaining such connections.,

In addition to the foregoing 4.this inven-` tion comprehends improvements in the details of construction and arrangements of parts to be hereinafter set forth and specifically pointed out in the appended claims:

In the accompanying drawings in which similar and corresponding parts aredesignated by the same Vcharacters of reference:

Figure l is a view in perspective oi' a moa wire protecting device includtor of the Ford type illustrating the association therewith oi my invention.

Fig. 2 is a iace'view with parts broken away ofthe coinmutators wiring casing.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3;-3 of Fig. 2.

Patented May 10, 1921.

Fig. 4 is a view in section taken on the lineof Fig. 3. Y g

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on vthe line 5 5 of Fig. 4f.

Fig. 6 is a detail section taken on the line l c e of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a view partly in section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a face view partly broken away of the coil box conduit, and

Fig. 9 is a view thereof in section. lVith reference to the drawings lO indicates an engine of the Ford type, having av conical commutator casing Il mounted on' the front end, the casing resting upon a circular base l2. The construction of commutatore of this type are well known and it is sufficient to add thatJ four binding posts 13 extend radially from the side of the commutators, and the latter is adapted to be partly rotated to retard or advance the spark. The coil box indicatcdat 14 in Fig. l is mounted on the dash board of the vehicle with vits binding posts l5 extending through the dash,the box being on the rear face thereof.

Grdinarily the wires from the upper set of binding posts are formed into a cable and led to the commutator where the wires are "separated and connected to their respective binding posts 13. This cable is subject to wear and corrosion and it is my object to inclose the saine in a conduit of `durable material and thereby eliminate troubles arising from injuries to the cable.

The invention consists essentially of three major parts, namely: a conduitl 16 to be secured to the :front of the dash and to -reccive the binding posts 15, a casing 17 surrounding the commutator to protect the wires leading to its binding posts, and a conduit 18` connecting said first conduit with the casing. As the vehicle body is adapted to move relatively to the engine, it is obvious that some movable connection must beestablished between the several parts of the device.

The conduit 16 which is secured tothe dash merely comprises a strip 19 of insulating material having a series of perforations 20to receive the binding posts and longitudinal grooves 21 extending from the perforations to a cavity at one end of the strip. A cover plate 22 is secured to the strip to inclose the grooves and a threaded nipple 23 is formed on the strip over the cavity. A socket member 24 having a threaded extension 25 is provided, the extension entering the nipple.

The conduit 18 is in the form of a tube of insulating material having a hollow spherical enlargement at each end indicated at 26 and 27. It will be noted thaty the socket member 24 is split so that it may re ceive the head 26 and closed, and the extension 25 threaded into the nipple thereby movably connecting the parts together. An extension 28 of the conduit 16 ma' be formed to carry a wire for the electric lights of the vehicle.

The part associated with the commutator consists of an annular portion 29 to receive the commutator and having its outer periphery indented and formed to avoid the parts of the engine adjacent to the commutator. A tangential extension 30 is formed on the annular portion, and the terminal of said extension is enlarged to form a triangular distributing head 31, terminating in a threaded nipple 32. The upper face of the head 31 is formed with a recess 33 and binding posts 34 and 35 extend through the head. A split socket member 36 is engaged in the nipple 32 to receive the head 2 7 at the lower end of the conduit 18. The face of the extension 30 is formed with a plurality of grooves 37 which contain wires 38. One end of each wire passes through an opening 39 formed at the end ofthe extension 30 and is then connected toits respective binding post 34. The other ends of the wires are connected to metallic plates 40 of which four are provided in the present instance and are located in an annular recess 41 formed in the face of the annular portion 29 and uniformally and circumferentially spaced. Each plate has an upraised finger 42 as shown in Fig. 6 for a purpose tobe presently obvious. A cover plate is provided which includes an annular portion 43 to engage and fit over the annular portion 29 of the casing, and a tangential extension 44 to cover the extension 30, the exl tension 44 having an overhanging y cover extension 45V at its terminal to cover the distributing head 31. It will be noted that the recess y41 defines an annular chamber when the cover plate is in place, and said chamber is divided into four parts by the provision of partitions 46 formed on said cover plate, the partitions being located midway of the metallic plate 40. In each of said four sub-compartments there is located a spring clip 47 in the orm'of a strip of metal having its `ends bent toward each other, and one end formed with a laterally v headlights.

extending eye 48. The intermediate portion of the clip contacts with the finger 42 of an adjacent'plate 40, and the eye 48 is to receive an adjacent binding post 13 of the commutator.

In use, a cable containing four wires, more or less is inclosed within the conduit 18 and the wires connected at one end to the binding posts 16 of the coil box, being irst placed in the grooves 21 and led 75 through the ball and socket construction 24 and 26. The wires at the other end of the cable are connected to the binding posts 34 of the distributing head. An additional wire may be provided in the cable and connected to the binding post 35, a wire con nected to said binding post and led through a conduit 50 for lsupplying current to the Thus, the coil box binding posts are connected directly to the binding posts 13 of the commutator, and the connecting wires will be inclosed throughout their length in a casing of electrically insulating medium. It will be obvious that the commutator may be rotated through a partial revolution to advance or retard the spark to any degree required in practice, and the electrical connectionwith the commutator maintained.

While I have illustrated and described my invention with some degree of particularity, I realize that in practice various alterations therein may be made. I therefore reserve the right and privilege of changing the form of the details of construction or otherwise altering the arrangement of the correlated parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims. n

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the coil box and commutator of a socket member mounted upon the coil box, a second socket member mounted upon the commutator, a conduit of rigid material, said conduit being tubular, a spherical member formed on each end of the conduit, one spherical member to enter the first socket member and the other spherical member to enter the second socket member, and wiring extending through the tubular member and into both socket members.

2. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a coil box stationary relative to the body of the vehicle, and a commutator stationary relative to the chassis, of a means including a socket member of insulating mm terial, said means being grooved to receive wiring'and mounted upon the coil box, anv annular member adapted to be mounted upon the commutator having a socket member thereon, and likewise containing grooves for wiring, a straight tubular member of rigid material adapted to extend between both `socket members, a spherical member on each end of the straight member to enter an adjacent socket member, and wiring extending through the conduit and into the grooves of both socket and annular members to forni electrical connections between the coil box and commutator.

3. An attachment for motor vehicles including a member for attachment to a coil box consisting of insulating material, having grooves therein for wiring and having a socket member formed thereon, a second member of insulating material adapted to embrace a commutator, and likewise having grooves therein for wiring and a socket member, a tubular member, straight and formed of rigid material, and a spherical member formed on each end of the straight member one spherical member to enter the irst socket member, and the other spherical member to enter the second socket member, both of said' spherical members being perforated to permit the passage of Wiring through the conduit.

Ll. In a device of the character described, a circular element of non-conducting material, a plurality of contacts mounted thereon, an extension formed integrally7 therewith having grooves leading to the contact, an enlargement on the terminal of said extension having a cavity therein in communication with the grooves and formed with an internally threaded portion communicating with the cavity, binding posts in said enlargement extending into the cavity, a socket member, a threaded portion on said socket member to enter the threaded opening of the l enlargement, a conduit of rigid material, and a circular enlargement on said conduit to enter the socket member. Y

5. In combination with a commutato having a series of radial binding posts, a circular element of non-conducting material surrounding the commutator and stationarily mounted, said member having an an-v nular recess therein, a second annular member applied to the rst and movable with the commutator, a plurality of partition strips mounted on' said second annular member deining a plurality of arcuate recesses,

mentioned contact members in any angularly adjusted position of the commutator.

- In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature 1n presence of twoL Witnesses.

. MARY ANGELA WHELAN. Witnesses:

FRED L. ROY, HARRY RIGKARD. 

